Musee Picasso Antibes

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The Stunning Musee Picasso Antibes

Did you know that Musee Picasso Antibes is the first museum in the world devoted to the artworks of Pablo Picasso?

This beautiful museum is an impressive ancient castle on the rampart walls of Antibes. It offers stunning views overlooking the port, the Cap d’Antibes and out to the sparkling, aqua blue Mediterranean sea.

Travel French Riviera - Musee Picasso Antibes — Photo taken by Clemensfranz on Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0

It is worth paying the small entrance fees just for the views offered from this gorgeous castle. Today the renovated building is a brightly-lit museum and no longer the dark and gloomy ancient castle.

This 15th century château showcases around 250 Picasso artworks. The Musee Picasso Antibes also displays paintings and sculptures by other modern and contemporary artists such as Nicholas de Staël, Hans Hartung, Fernand Léger and Joan Miro.

Picasso’s Short Love-Affair with Antibes

The wealthy, glitzy tourists have always preferred the Riviera’s resorts like St-Tropez and Nice. But Pablo Picasso preferred the more down-to-earth atmosphere of Antibes. Picasso was in his mid-sixties old when he moved to Antibes. World War Two was over, life was good and Picasso had a 23-year-old girlfriend!

Art materials were in short supply, so Picasso made do with the very basics. The theme of his paintings during this period celebrated the joy of freedom, especially after the long horror of war.

The History of the Picasso Antibes Museum

Pablo Picasso set up his studio in the château, then called the Grimaldi Museum. However, when Picasso left a year later, he gifted the museum with 44 drawings and 23 of his paintings. This gift included the famous paintings ‘La Joie de vivre’ and ‘Ulysse et les sirènes’ .

A famous Pablo Picasso Painting in the Musee Picasso Antibes — Joie De Vivire, 1946 – Paintings by Pablo Picasso
(Photo of Steynard on Flickr CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

In 1947, the first Picasso Hall was inaugurated. But over time, the museum received donations of more Picasso artworks, including paintings, drawings and ceramics. To accomodate this larger collection, new rooms were added. On December 27, 1966 and in honor of Picasso, the Grimaldi Château became the Picasso Museum (Musee Picasso Antibes).